Portable carrying case and easel



June 9, 1964 J. SLOVES ABLE CARRYING CASE AND EASEL Filed May 17, 1962 I HHWHH R mm mm e J m lll 6 q m 1IL United States Patent.

3,136,082 PORTABLE CARRYING CASE AND EASEL lacob Sloves, Forest Hills, N.Y., assignor to Sloves Mechanical Binding (Jompany, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed May 17, 1962, Ser. No. 195,526

2 Claims. (Cl. 40-102) This invention relates generally to easels for presenting sales information or instructive material in loose leaf form, and more particularly to a carrying case which incorporates a foldable loose-leaf easel adapted to be erected when the case is opened. This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial No. 181,950, filed March 23, 1962.

Modern sales techniques frequently make use of visual aids in the form of photographs, diagrams and other instructive material which serve to illustrate or clarify a sales presentation. Usually such material is carried by the sales representative in a rigid carrying case or attache case which takes the form of a leather or plastic-covered box having a hinged cover thereon. When the visual aid material is removed from the case at a sales conference it becomes necessary to set it up in some way to facilitate presentation to the conference.

While stands or conventional easels would be suitable for such presentations, they cannot be conveniently carried by a sales representative already burdened with samples and other paraphernalia. On the other hand, should a salesman at a conference seek to improvise an easel by borrowing loose props of various kinds, this may have a disturbing effect on the presentation.

In view of the foregoing, it is the main object of this invention to provide a carrying case which incorporates a foldable easel adapted to present instructive material in loose leaf form, the easel when extended being constituted by two interconnected panels whereby two loose leaf sheets may be viewed simultaneously.

A significant feature of the invention resides in the fact that to erect the easel, one has simply to open the case cover and lift the easel structure hingedly connected to the case box, the instructive material being supported in sheet form on the easel by a ring binder which readily permits the user to turn pages in the course of a presentation. An advantage of the invention is that the extended easel permits two sheets to be seen at the same time, so that for presentation purposes, one sheet may contain a photograph and the adjacent sheet data relevant thereto.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a com-- bined carrying case and a foldable double-panel easel for visual aid material in loose leaf form, the material and easel fitting within the closed case to provide a compact diptych, the diptych when folded fitting into the box and when extended forming a double panel which lies against connected to the front wall of the box whereby; when the diptych is lifted and opened, the top panel'restsagainst the cover. The loose leaf pages are supported in a ring binder stripattached to thebottom panel adjacent the fold line o f the easel, such that when a page is turned it lies against the top panel, thereby presenting two pages.

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as the raised cover to provide a support for two data sheets. i

. The free edge of the top panel in the diptych is hingedly ice other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following detailed description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein like components in the several views are identified by like reference numerals.

' In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the carrying case and easel assembly, with the case cover raised but the easel folded in.

FIG. 2 shows the open carrying case with the easel erected for purpose of making a presentation.

1 FIG. 3 is a transverse section taken through the same case when the easel is folded therein and the cover is closed.

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken through the open case in FIG. 2. Referring now to the drawings, the principal components of the invention are a carrying or attache case constituted by a shallow-rectangular box 10 and a box-like cover 11 of the same dimensions hingedly connected thereto. Received within the box is a foldable easel in the form of two panels 12 and 13 hinged together to form a diptych, the bottom panel 12 having a ring binder strip 14 attached thereto for holding loose leaf sheets or cards 15. When the case is closed as shown in FIG. 3 all components lie therewithin.

The carrying case box 10 and cover 11 may be made of conventional materials, such as leather-covered board or metal, the rear walls 10a and 11a being interconnected by butt hinges 16. When the cover is raised, it is held in this condition by a folding brace 16. While both box and cover are relatively shallow, the internal capacity of the case is twice the depth of the box and is therefore adequate for purposes of the invention. The case has the usual lock 17 and handle 18 attached to the front wall 11b of the cover. Thus the handle is also used to lift the cover.

The lower edge 12a of the bottom panel 12 of the diptych is hingedly connected to the front wall 10b of the box by means of hinges 19. The hinges are applied by suitable rivets 20, and a slat 21 is interposed between one leaf of hinge 1? and front wall 10b. The bottom panel 12 and the top panel 13 are made of rigid plates of pressboard or the like and are hinged together by unidirectional hinges 22 which fold inwardly only so that when the diptych is folded into the case, the top panel lies against the bottom wall of the box, whereas the upper panel and the pages thereon lie at a slightly inclined position within the closed case, but when the diptych is extended the two panels lie in the same plane at an angle to the case to provide a flat and enlarged easel surface.

The binder strip 14 is constituted by rectangular-shaped rings 14a mounted on the strip which is attached to panel 12 parallel to the upper edge thereof. The rings 14a are of the usual ring binder type and are composed of separable spring-biased elements which may be parted to admit suitable apertured sheets or cards 15. The rectangular form of the rings presents a .flat rather than the usual rounded surface to the sheets lying on the upper panel and thereby prevents these sheets from falling down as might be the case with circular rings.

The sheets or cards 15 may take any useful form and may contain sales information, charts, photographs and the like. They may also be in the form of transparent jackets of plastic sheeting to accommodate and protect instructive data.

When the cover 11 is raised and maintained in an upright position, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the diptych may.

be lifted and extended to erect the easel, the top panel 13 resting against the front wall 11b of the cover. When a 3 in FIG. 2, so that a page on the bottom panel and one on the top panel are simultaneously viewable.

After the presentation, all of the pages are turned back on bottom panel 12, the top panel 13 is folded under the bottom panel to drop the diptych within box 10, and the cover 11 is closed thereon. To stabilize the case when the easel is erected and to prevent inadvertent tipping thereof, a lead weight 23 is embedded in front wall 101) of the case.

Thus a simple and compact presentation case is provided which may be easily carried by a sales representative and set up without the slightest difficulty and without any auxiliary means to make an effective presentation. While there has been shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be obvious that many changes may be made therein without departing from the basic scope thereof as set forth in the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. A presentation assembly comprising a carrying case box; and a foldable easel comprising first and second panels, said first panel being hingedly connected at one end thereof to the front wall of said box, and unidirectional hinge means connecting the other end of said first panel to one end of said second panel to permit said second panel to be folded under said first panel to lie within said box and to permit said second panel to be extended to form a coplanar extension of said first panel constituting a presentation easel adapted to rest at an angle against the upright cover, said hinge means preventing said second panel from folding over said first panel.

2. A presentation assembly as set forth in claim 1, further including weighing means secured to the front wall of said box to prevent tipping thereof when said easel is unfolded and rests on said cover.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,720,607 Reed July 9, 1929 2,505,814 Voorhorst May 2, 1950 2,550,597 Phillips Apr. 24, 1951 3,001,800 Pearce Sept. 26, 1961 

1. A PRESENTATION ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A CARRYING CASE HAVING A RECTANGULAR BOX PROVIDED WITH FRONT AND REAR WALLS, A COVER HINGEDLY CONNECTED TO SAID REAR WALL TO CLOSE SAID BOX, AND MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID COVER IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION WHEN SAID COVER IS RAISED TO OPEN SAID BOX; AND A FOLDABLE EASEL COMPRISING FIRST AND SECOND PANELS, SAID FIRST PANEL BEING HINGEDLY CONNECTED AT ONE END THEREOF TO THE FRONT WALL OF SAID BOX, AND UNIDIRECTIONAL HINGE MEANS CONNECTING THE OTHER END OF SAID FIRST PANEL TO ONE END OF SAID SECOND PANEL TO PERMIT SAID SECOND PANEL TO BE FOLDED UNDER SAID FIRST PANEL TO LIE WITHIN SAID BOX AND TO PERMIT SAID SECOND PANEL TO BE EXTENDED TO FORM A COPLANAR EXTENSION OF SAID FIRST PANEL CONSTITUTING A PRESENTATION EASEL ADAPTED TO REST AT AN ANGLE AGAINST THE UPRIGHT COVER, SAID HINGE MEANS PREVENTING SAID SECOND PANEL FROM FOLDING OVER SAID FIRST PANEL. 